Chris Cuomo mum on big brother’s scandal, observers say CNN botched chance to showcase journalism standards

CNN host Chris Cuomo ignored the bombshell news Tuesday that his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D., was accused by the state's attorney general of sexually harassing 11 women. 

The stone silence from CNN’s most-watched host, who offered his brother advice and even drafted a statement to respond to the allegations against him in February, has some critics saying he should be taken off the air. Others feel the embattled network missed a chance to display journalism morals and ethics that have eroded in recent years. 

CNN’s Cuomo, who had awkwardly addressed the family drama on his primetime show in the past, did not mention the explosive report Tuesday released earlier in the day by New York Attorney General Letitia James, D. The CNN host, whose name comes up multiple times in James' report and used to affectionately refer to his big brother as "Luv Guv," opened his show by telling viewers, "We're focused on COVID here."

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"He should not have been on the air last night," Fox News contributor Joe Concha said on "Fox & Friends First."

Concha said CNN was a "very proud news network that had a very good brand" but those days are long gone. CNN famously saw its reputation suffer after the liberal network spent months putting Gov. Cuomo on a pedestal and now everyone from CNN employees to an MSNBC columnist are outraged.

"They should have put someone on the air who resembles a journalist and not an activist who has the title of anchor and plays one on TV," Concha added. "This ‘anchor’ should also resign and go work for the Democratic Party."  

A host on a rival network told Fox News that while he sympathized with the idea of helping out a family member in trouble, Cuomo not addressing the elephant in the room at all was another matter.

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"Most networks, most newspapers would expect there to be more transparency and consistency," he said of Cuomo being opaque about the role he played in his brother's political operation. "Bias is not just the stories you report on from a center-left worldview, but the stories you decide not to write, the stories you decide not to report on. So it's hard to see how someone could not report on the top news story of the day."

DePauw University journalism professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall feels CNN botched a unique chance to showcase journalism standards. 

"It was a mistake for Chris to not provide insight on his own show last night about why he is not covering his brother," McCall told Fox News. 

"He should not be covering his brother, of course, but CNN again missed an opportunity to explain its standards," McCall continued. "Also, now that Chris is mentioned in the attorney general's report, he and CNN should provide some explanation for how a working journalist can involve himself in damage control for a politician, even if that politician is his brother." 

However, McCall said CNN had failed viewers when it comes to the "Cuomo brothers' schtick" for over a year.

"The lack of professional standards was appalling during the early days of COVID coverage when Chris routinely had the governor on his program to show off about Andrew's handling of COVID, bash Trump and do comedy sketches," McCall said. "CNN should have never let Chris cover his brother for either good or bad news, and only decided to prohibit such coverage once the governor's news became all bad." 

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Indeed, CNN came under fire last year for allowing widely criticized on-air banter masquerading as interviews between the siblings. Their playful banter was a ratings boon for the Cuomo family, but media observers said it was improper from a journalistic perspective. 

Chris Cuomo was initially prevented by CNN when he joined in 2013 from covering his brother, but the network lifted the ban and only reinstated it when the governor became wrapped up in multiple scandals. The ban puts CNN in a peculiar situation, as the host of the network’s 9 p.m. ET program isn’t allowed to cover one of the top political stories in the country.

"Chris can continue to do his nightly show, it seems, but any respectable news show should necessarily have coverage of the New York governor's problems. Thus, CNN should provide updates that are produced and presented by a separate reporter," McCall said. 

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CNN’s in-house media pundit Brian Stelter tweeted that Chris Cuomo has discussed the saga on his radio program and was immediately hit with criticism. "So you're saying that he's free to cover the news at SiriusXM, but not at your network? Sounds worth covering," journalist Charles C. W. Cooke responded. 

Tuesday night’s broadcast on CNN was particularly awkward, as Don Lemon addressed the scandal just seconds after exchanging pleasantries with the "Cuomo Prime Time" host during their nightly handoff. 

"Clearly, CNN is committed to Chris and won't let him go," McCall said. "But a statement of admonition would be appropriate and help provide the public with transparent standards for how the news organization plans to handle this ongoing story."

University of North Carolina Parr Center for Ethics fellow Lois A. Boynton noted that CNN "isn’t shying away from covering an important and newsworthy story" about the governor’s growing scandal and feels Chris Cuomo ignoring it is likely recognition of the conflict of interest he and the network face.

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"As the saying goes, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging," Boynton told Fox News. "CNN executives still face the challenge of addressing the conflict of interest going forward." 

Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.